So much for the NFC East

Douglas LeeSep 23, 2013 11:41 AM

Good Morning, Broncos fans! We alreadydiscussed the Chargers' crushing 20-17 loss at Tennessee yesterday, and of course, the Chiefs are sitting at 3-0 following their Thursday night thrashing of the Eagles.

Tonight, Denver will have a chance to rejoin Kansas City atop the AFCW with a win over the visiting Raiders, who are coming off a home win over the hapless Jaguars.

Aside from the sweet memories of that win over Jacksonville (who got smoked 45-17 by the Seahawks yesterday), we're figuring this embarrassment will be the highlight of Oakland's night.

Klee stretches quite a bit in likening Terrelle Pryor and his first three starts to Tim Tebow and his.

Dusty Saunders revisits the Broncos' first appearance on MNF, a 23-23 tie against Oakland.

Starting LB Sio Moore suffered a concussion in a car accident on Saturday and has been listed as questionable. If he's unable to play, Kaluka Maiava would start in his place at the Sam.

AFC

New England (3-0) dispatched the Bucs (0-3) by a 23-3 score on the strength of two Tom Brady touchdown passes to rookie wideout Kenbrell Thompkins. Mike Tanier says the Bucs have managed to take over the crown of NFL laughingstock from the LOLJets.

Miami (3-0) remains unbeaten following their 27-23 victory over the visiting Falcons (1-2), capped by a last-minute touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Dion Sims.

Baltimore (2-1) won by a 30-9 margin over the visiting Texans (2-1); Don Banks recaps the game.

Indy (2-1) stomped the host Niners (1-2) in a 27-7 stunner; Trent Richardson scored on his first carry for the Colts, and Andrew Luck and Ahmad Bradshaw added touchdown runs of their own. San Francisco controversially played Aldon Smith just two days after his DUI arrest, and the star LB is now said to be headed for in-patient rehab. Niners RB Frank Gore was said to have had sharp words for coach Jim Harbaugh after receiving just four second-half carries.

Cincy (2-1) defeated the visiting Packers (1-2) 34-30 by balancing four first-half giveaways with four takeaways, including a game-deciding fumble return touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The Jets are 2-1 after a 27-20 win over the visiting Bills (1-2); the deciding score was a fourth-quarter 69-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to Santonio Holmes. Smith's first touchdown pass of the game marked the team's first to a wideout in 270 attempts.

Chicago (3-0) managed just 258 yards of offense but still whipped the host Steelers40-23 by turning them over five times. The victory came with a heavy price, as franchise-tagged DT Henry Melton reportedly tore his ACL.

NFC

Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as New Orleans (3-0) annihilated the visiting Cardinals (1-2) by a 31-7 score. Arizona safety Rashad Johnson lost part of a finger during a special teams tackle.

In another 31-7 beatdown, DeMarco Murray (203 yards, one TD) and the Cowboys (2-1) unloaded on the visiting Rams (1-2).

Detroit (2-1) emerged victorious at Washington (0-3) for the first time in 21 games and 74 years, with a 27-20 triumph.

Carolina (1-2) whitewashed the visiting Giants (0-3) in a 38-0 demolition led by Cam Newton's four total touchdowns; the job of Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is reportedly safe for the year; the G-Men lost FB Henry Hynoski to a fractured shoulder.

News

Now that the NFL has achieved a favorable settlement to the bit concussion suit, it's apparently resumed its disgusting push for an 18-game schedule.

Our thoughts go out to the family of Cardinals DT Dan Williams, whose father was killed in a car accident while driving to see his son play in New Orleans.

Detroit lost DE Jason Jones for the season with a ruptured patellar tendon; New England extended LB Rob Ninkovich through the 2016 season.

Tom Brady has reportedly been checking in on familiar wideouts Deion Branch and Brandon Lloyd to see if they're able/interested to rejoin the Pats.

They may want to. MJD's deal expires after this season (I'll stand corrected on the Jags releasing him -- he just won't be re-signed assuming he isn't traded before the deadline) so get at least a late-round pick while you can.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2013-09-24 10:38:54

Yes, in ESPN's new system he was covering both San Francisco and San Diego, but there's a new San Diego guy now. The change will probably do him good.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-09-23 17:45:50

It's possible the front office is trying to get the number one pick, but no player is going to quit.

Even when the Houston Rockets tanked the year to get Akeem Olajuwan, the players that were in there played hard. The coach just made sure the best players didn't play.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-09-23 17:39:33

They must have higher-quality mint jelly over there...

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-09-23 17:28:12

While I'm a huge proponent of continuing to build your defensive line and pass-rushers in particular, I think the Giants FO have continually done this to the detriment of their team. I mean, they just keep bringing guys in on the D-Line, and basically ignore everywhere else.

It's great to have depth, but when the majority of your high draft picks are in the same position group, forcing each other to the bench, that's just not a good thing.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-09-23 17:26:50

That is baffling. The only thing I can think is that the finger was caught in a helmet or caught between the ground and another player where it was then ripped out while the glove stretched and stayed in place. It would basically have to be a massive dislocation that also ripped the skin straight off.

Seems impossible, but that's my only thought.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-09-23 17:22:44

Tiny nitpick in the context of always appreciating the Lard. One of the Brown's touchdown passes to Cameron Jordan was thrown by the holder on a fake FG. Otherwise, thank you, as always.

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-09-23 17:19:34

Smart observation. I can imagine a great coach is getting input from all of his coaches to some degree, and delegates decisions to other degrees. And, when you have a guy like #18 on the field, I'd bet Peyton shares in the decision-making process as well.

But, it's much easier just to blame Fox for the bad stuff and give credit to the players and coordinators or Elway for the good stuff, right?

Posted by John Tomasik on 2013-09-23 16:11:46

If they're not trying to trade Jones-Drew for anything they can get before the deadline, they're nuts.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-09-23 16:00:13

Finger crawls out of glove...

Posted by 53guys on 2013-09-23 15:51:38

never left..you inviting me over what do u want me to bring?

Posted by green and white on 2013-09-23 15:23:02

I thought it was Todd Helton who first suggested it. :-)

Posted by CompUser on 2013-09-23 15:13:32

Another mystery to me. How did he get the tip of a finger cut off, but the tip of the glove that the finger was in wasn't cut off with it? (Twilight Zone music plays.)

Posted by CompUser on 2013-09-23 15:09:56

Don't know if it's been pointed out yet or not, but it looks like Bill Williamson is San Francisco's problem now:

That's something that has been a mystery to me ever since John Fox was hired as HC. If I remember correctly, everyone was happy about the hire (at least partially) because John Fox lets his coordinators run their respective lines. But whenever people don't like a called play, they put it all on Fox. I've never heard a coordinator being blamed for a bad call.

Posted by CompUser on 2013-09-23 15:04:11

Are you back for some more, GW? Stop, bro. If you think Smith is going to lead this team anywhere, you need to take your ass back to the trailer park.

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2013-09-23 14:37:42

It wasn't that close. They could have played four more quarters and the Giants weren't going to come any closer to scoring. The Panthers' front seven absolutely throttled them.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-09-23 14:17:24

Good point here Yahmule.If it happened once, maybe even twice it'd be pretty easy to say: "well, that is a pretty high character player to be able to take his benching and put it together"... but now we've seen it with 3+ guys, I think that says alot about the guys Elway/Fox bring in, and the environment in Dove Valley where pros are given the opportunity to work hard, improve, and contribute. You could Ihenacho to the list too, as another guy who came in with no expectations (unless it was to simply be camp fodder), yet was given the opportunity and coaching to beat out the "common wisdom" player(s) for a major role on the team.

Posted by cjfarls on 2013-09-23 14:10:02

That it would. Let's see if ownership allows the FO to work with their plan for more than 1 or 2 years.

BTW, Doug, wasn't one of Cameron's TDs thrown by the punter?

Posted by prwild98 on 2013-09-23 14:08:45

If Cleveland was planning to get in line for the No. 1 overall pick, they forgot the Jags were far out in front of everyone else. And the Jags will never trade the pick, either.

Looking at the Jags, that's a team in which I can pretty much bet will go 0-16 and then we'll see the big headline of the 2014 offseason is the Jags releasing Maurice Jones-Drew.

On the other hand, I doubt you'll hear about the Jags bringing in a new coach and GM because I think Khan knows Gene Smith left too much of a mess behind -- although I could see Khan telling people he made a mistake when he kept Smith last season and he should have just started from scratch right away.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2013-09-23 14:07:58

Along with Josh Gordon and Cameron, they would be lethal. cc: Mike Lombardi

Posted by Orange_and_Blue on 2013-09-23 14:05:52

I love John Fox. And don't forget - he was the one that first suggested to Elway that the Broncos go after Peyton.

Posted by bradley on 2013-09-23 13:56:01

I like Josh Gordon too. That would be a very solid young corps of WRs.

Posted by Orange_and_Blue on 2013-09-23 13:53:55

Jerry Richardson's legendary cheapness has to be the only thing keeping Ron Rivera employed.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-09-23 13:48:13

I liked the Bubba Caldwell article. One very nice thing about John Fox is that he treats his players like men. Nobody gets buried in the doghouse in Denver. Players who've briefly lost playing time under Fox don't pout, they start working harder. We've seen it with Ayers and Moreno and Caldwell. The patience they've shown with Ramirez and Holliday are also examples. This isn't the kind of team to scapegoat a kid like Rahim Moore, they're going to circle the wagons around him. I'll forgive a couple poor game day decisions (which ALL coaches makes) in exchange for a positive winning atmosphere with all 53 guys pulling together.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-09-23 13:44:44

This was mentioned on another forum I frequent, so I'll bring it up here: Could Giants GM Jerry Reese be in danger of losing his job? The person who brought it up mentioned that the Giants' O-line is aging and they haven't brought in quality young players to replace them, plus their secondary has been pretty bad. They seem to be relying too much on Eli and his WRs.

I don't know how much talk will come up in the MSM... I'm sure many there are thinking Reese's job is safe because of his past track record. But weren't they thinking the same thing with Bill Pollian in his final season with the Colts?

Posted by Bob Morris on 2013-09-23 13:36:27

I wouldn't worry much about Klis...he called the Redskins and Bucs his "sleeper" contenders for the Super Bowl too. After one week of football, that Klis article was nothing but pot-stirring and hot air.

Posted by Sean on 2013-09-23 13:30:14

Cleveland could use their first rounders on Marquise Lee and Paul Richardson and it wouldn't matter who they started @ QB.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-09-23 13:28:05

I don't really believe any NFL team would Play Dead for Ted or any other player after just two weeks. I think professionals at the highest level have more pride than that. Not that anybody could possibly get in front of Jacksonville for number one. It's just not going to happen. If you could reassemble the 2008 Detroit Lions tomorrow, they would whip the Jaguars' asses next Sunday.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-09-23 13:18:51

me

Posted by green and white on 2013-09-23 13:01:51

Who'd have thunk that the crappiest NY/NJ team would be the Giants?! I can't believe they lost 38-0. What an ass-kicking!

Posted by magster on 2013-09-23 12:51:49

WHAT?!?!

Is this real life?

EDIT: On a related note, we all know Foxy is a conservative coach but could all that run up the gut crap from last year be 100% on McCoy? The world may never know.

Posted by RyanHennigan on 2013-09-23 12:46:08

Given how many teams look unready for the season to start -- a full 3 games into it -- the NFL's push for 18 games seems laughable and poorly timed. It's just ludicrous.

Posted by underdog on 2013-09-23 12:38:28

Very happy to see the Niners stumble.

Cleveland FO must be banging their heads against the wall. Hoyer is 2011 Tebow...expecting to lose but might find ways to win. Hoyer actually can throw a good ball tho. If Cleveland wins 7 games, they should just go with Hoyer and draft a 2nd or 3rd rd QB (they have 7 picks in first 3 or 4 rds). One more playmaking WR (Marquise Lee), draft a 2nd rd RB (Ka'Deem Carey) and they have a brand new fun offense (if Hoyer can play).

Denver 35, Oakland 13. Janikowski will just miss a 69 yd FG.

Posted by Orange_and_Blue on 2013-09-23 12:36:48

True, but who would have believed this. The DP using Advanced NFL Stats to argue that Mike McCoy wussed out by running on third and nine. This isn't Jeff Legwold's paper anymore:

Times are a changing in the nfl. Look at the NFC west. Doormats no more . Nfce well excpeting the cowgirls all are looking like bottom feeders.

All it takes is a draft or two and good string head coaches.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-09-23 12:17:25

Wondering exactly how Rashad Johnson lost the tip of his finger? Crazy it was in his glove when he took it off.

Posted by 53guys on 2013-09-23 12:13:44

That Mike Tanier article on the "new" Jets is hilarious. What does that guy smoke/drink?

Posted by mikewyd on 2013-09-23 12:11:22

That POS Mike Klis said there are 5 teams in the NFC better than any team in the AFC... Let's evaluate that so far. Dolphins beat the Falcons, Bengals beat the Packers, Colts beat the 49ers, Chiefs beat the Eagles.. and his buddy Kizla said Giants would beat the Broncos.